HOW HE DID IN 2018: McLeod was off to a solid start before he tore both the ACL and MCL in his right knee during a Week 3 game against the Colts and missed the rest of the season. McLeod’s real impact came as a leader down the stretch, as he led the ski-mask charge for the Eagles defense and was a visible presence on the sideline and locker room as a motivator for his teammates. It seemed for a bit that the Eagles might move on from him because of his contract, but instead McLeod agreed to a paycut to return for at least one more season.

STATS: In those three games, McLeod had 10 tackles and four pass deflections

WHY HE’S IMPORTANT: McLeod is the sort of player that most didn’t realize what the Eagles were missing until he was gone. His numbers don’t jump off the page — he’s very Al Horford-like in that way — but the Eagles really felt his loss when he went down last season. McLeod has value as a deep safety, especially in a secondary with cornerbacks prone to giving up big plays. He did have three interceptions in each of his first two seasons with the Eagles, too, which would’ve tied for the team lead in 2018. They don’t need him to be a star, but they do need him.

The Eagles are better suited to weather the storm of an injury this season with Andrew Sendejo in the fold instead of Corey Graham, but he’s still an important part of the defense that helps to allow Malcolm Jenkins do what he does. In 2017, McLeod was graded as the 26th-best safety in the NFL by Pro Football Focus (min. 400 snaps) and the Eagles need him to get at least close to that level again this season.

Of note, he didn’t participate in minicamp or OTAs outside of warm-ups, though he expects to be ready for training camp.

HE SAID IT: "I came a long way To go from being injured and having the game taken away from you for that long and now be able to go back out there, and just participate in individual drills, get back out there with the guys, it’s a great feeling.” — McLeod on his recovery